


Tony Stark's Biggest Secret

by Boom_Chris



Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint is salty, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Natasha Is Always Right, Stony - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-10 09:38:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6951154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boom_Chris/pseuds/Boom_Chris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony Stark has been keeping a secret his entire life.</p><p>He was gay.</p><p>Tony was sure that he could keep secret, until he met Steve Rogers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tony Stark's Biggest Secret

Tony Stark had been keeping a secret his entire life. A secret that no one but him knew.

He was gay.

He found out when he was young. He asked his parents if it were possible for him to like boys. His father nearly had a heart attack. He shouted at him and asked him if he was a “disgusting fag”. The anger and hatred in his father’s voice scared him into saying no. He told them he was just curious if it were possible. His father stayed suspicious of him until Tony started dating. After that he relaxed, but would still remind Tony that being gay was a horrible thing.

Even after his parents died, Tony wouldn't tell a single soul. He went on dating and sleeping with woman, even though he hated himself and every second of those experiences. That's why he was usually drunk when he was with someone. He eventually became known as a womanizer, and he no longer feared being caught. No one would suspect that Tony Stark was gay, and Tony was content with the way his life was. All he had to do was get wasted and sleep with some woman every once in awhile to make sure no one got suspicious.

Tony thought he would go the rest of his life without anyone knowing, that was until he joined the Avengers and met Steve Rogers.

Steve drove him crazy in the best and worst ways. They often had opposing views and would argue, but Steve was also so damn lovable, kind, and attractive. Tony couldn't help but fall for him.

Moving in with the rest of the Avengers only amplified his feelings for Steve. He got to see him practically 24/7. He saw Steve out of uniform, just after waking up, and after working out (which Tony really enjoyed).

Despite his strong feelings for Steve, he refused to act upon them. He had to keep up his image. Besides, who would believe he was gay now? He made it seem like it wasn't even a possibility.

 

* * *

 

Tony continued to ignore his feelings until Steve made it damn near impossible for him to.

One day he was working in the lab and Natasha was with him. She just sat there and watched him. He would've found it creepy if it wasn't Natasha. He just let her do whatever she wanted.

He picked up his coffee cup to take a sip, and that's when she decided to finally talk.

“You know that Steve likes you, right?”

He nearly choked on his coffee. He looked over to Natasha wondering how she knew and why she decided now was a good time to tell him.

“Excuse me?”

“Steve likes you. Can't you tell? He's always flirting with you.” She smiled slightly.

“He doesn't flirt. That's just Steve. Plus he's not even gay.”

“Well you're right that he's not gay. He's actually bi, but you're wrong because he does flirt with you.”

“I'm sure he flirts with everyone else, too. Why should I even care?”

He turned back to his work. He looked like he didn't care about what she was saying, but really he wished what she said was true.

“He only flirts with you, Stark. Trust me, I've been watching him. You should make a move.”

He sighed and turned towards her again. “Why would I make a move? I'm not gay.”

She hummed and narrowed her eyes a bit. “I'm not so sure that.”

His heart started beating quicker. He glared at her. There was no way she knew. No one knew.

“Where's your proof?”

“I’ll have it soon,” she smirked and stood up. Tony rolled his eyes as she walked out of his lab.

She was just fucking with him. She had to be.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, when he was going into the kitchen for some coffee, he heard Steve and Natasha talking about him. He stopped to listen in.

“Stark’s not gonna do anything so you have to.”

“I don't know, Nat… How do you know he likes me?”

‘Ugh, she really thinks I like him? Well I do, but she couldn't possibly know that.’

“I actually don't know, but I have a feeling.”

“A ‘feeling’ doesn't exactly help me.”

“Even if Stark does turn you down, you'll be able to move on.”

“Are you trying to make me do this so you can prove a point?”

“Of course not. I want you to be happy.”

There was a pause before she spoke again.

“Ok, I think he's hiding something, but I do want you to be happy too.”

“I think this is a first for you. For once, your spy skills can't help you dig up a secret.”

“I know his secret, I just have to prove it.”

He heard her start to leave. Steve chuckled.

“As much as I find this entertaining, I think I might actually tell him.”

Tony felt his heart skip a beat. He had no clue what he was going to do if Steve asked him out. He was torn.

“Good luck,” Natasha said as she left the kitchen.

Tony stood frozen for a minute before deciding he really needed his coffee. He walked into the kitchen pretending everything was normal, even though he was really freaking out inside.

“Hey Tony,” Steve said with a gorgeous smile once he saw Tony walk in.

“Hey there, Cap.”

He stood there awkwardly waiting for his coffee. Steve cleared his throat. Tony looked towards him.

“Um, Tony, can you talk for a bit?”

‘Shit. Shit. Fuck. Shit.’

“Actually, I'm pretty busy down in the lab. Can it wait until later?”

Steve frowned slightly. “I guess it can wait…”

Tony quickly poured coffee into his mug and smiled at Steve.

“See ya later.”

He quickly left the kitchen, and wondered how the hell he was going to avoid having that conversation with Steve.

 

* * *

 

For the next week, Tony continued to avoid Steve. He lied and told him he had a big project he needed to finish. Natasha seemed suspicious, but Tony did have a lot of work he needed to do, and anytime she tried to spy on him to see if he was lying, he was actually working.

Eventually Steve got fed up with Tony avoiding him. He cornered Tony one morning when he came up for coffee.

Tony jumped when Steve trapped him against the counter, each of Steve's arms at his sides. He leaned back after realizing how close their faces were.

“Can I help you?” He asked, trying to sound like he wasn't freaking out.

“You can't keep avoiding me, Tony.” He tried to sound intimidating.

“I'm not avoiding you. I've been working hard lately and I don't have a lot of free time.”

He knew that sounded like bullshit, but he really didn't want to have this conversation with Steve. He had no idea what the fuck he would do.

“Really? You’re too busy to have a conversation with me?” He asked innocently, while pushing Tony further against the counter.

“Yes?” Tony was really at a loss for what to do here. Steve had him pinned up against the counter, their bodies and faces close. He would’ve loved this position if it weren’t for their current situation,

“Then I'll make it quick for you. I like you, Tony.”

Tony stopped breathing. He actually said it, and Tony’s brain shutdown. He couldn’t say or do anything. He could feel himself blushing though.

Steve’s face was already so close his, but he leaned down anyway in an attempt to kiss Tony. Steve definitely figured him out at this point. That was bad.

His body went into full on panic mode. He felt trapped, despite the fact he usually loved being close to Steve. Their lips were about to touch when he quickly shoved Steve away, and ran down to his lab. He knew Steve was following him, so he made sure to lockdown his lab.

Once he was in his lab he sat on the floor and tried to control his panic, but of course he couldn’t.

“Shit! Fuck! Shit!”

His secret was finally out and he was terrified. He started to cry, feeling overwhelmed. No one was supposed to find out.

“Tony? Tony please let me in,” He heard Steve call from outside his lab.

Tony could only continue to cry, feeling ashamed and scared. He could even hear his father’s disapproval and insults in his head.

He heard the door open behind him. He suspected Steve convinced JARVIS to open the door (‘Traitor’). Tony just looked away from him.

“Tony, what the hell was that?” Steve asked as he sat down beside Tony.

Tony covered his face with his hands. Steve wouldn't understand him. No one would understand him.

“You hate the idea of dating me that much?” Steve joked, and Tony could hear the smirk in his voice.

Tony snorted. “Steve, you're god damn attractive and you know it.”

“Dating is more than looks.”

“You're also the nicest person ever. It actually disgusts me,” He said while turning towards Steve.

He had stopped crying, but his face was still covered in tears. Steve smiled.

“Sorry,” he whispered to Steve. He sighed and wiped his face. He suddenly felt embarrassed for crying and freaking out in front of Steve, although Steve, the bastard, would never judge him for it.

“So,” Steve broke the silence, “wanna talk about what just happened?” He wrapped his arm around Tony, and Tony placed his head on Steve's shoulder.

Tony sighed. He didn’t really want to talk. Explaining that he was ashamed of his sexuality and he's been hiding all of his life wasn’t something he wanted to get into, but Steve would never let him get away with saying nothing, so he was forced to explain.

He didn’t know where to start, so he simply said, “I’m gay.”

That was it. It was the first time he said that out loud. He was sure Natasha was somewhere, smirking knowing she was right once again. Steve didn't look surprised, but why would he be? Afterall, if Natasha thinks something’s true, 99.9% of the time it is, plus after Steve's confession it was obvious. He just nodded, urging Tony to continue. He did so, reluctantly.

“My father always told me, as a child, that was wrong,” Steve frowned, “so ever since then I've hid the fact I was gay. Even after he died, I was afraid to come out.”

“Why did you keep up this act up until now?”

“I had been doing it for so long. I felt like even if I did come out, no one would believe me, and if they did, they wouldn't like it.”

“You shouldn't have tortured yourself like that.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t exactly make the best decisions.”

Steve stood up, forcing Tony off his shoulder. He offered Tony his hand. Tony gave him a curious look before grabbing his hand, and intertwining their fingers. It felt nice to finally do this with someone he actually had feelings for.

“Why don’t you make a good one for once?” He asked with another unspoken question following it.

Tony froze once again. Steve Rogers wanted to be his boyfriend? Tony was _really_ unprepared for this. Not only has he never been in a formal relationship before, this would be a relationship with another man. He didn’t know if it would different for them or not.

“Tony?”

“Yes,” he answered slightly terrified, but also very excited to finally get to experience real love.

Steve smiled, and Tony could help but smile back at his gorgeous, now boyfriend.

“So can I get that kiss now?” Steve asked with a teasing tone.

Tony rolled his eyes, but he leaned forward and actually met Steve’s lips this time. Tony couldn’t describe what he was feeling during this exact moment, but he didn’t care. He placed his hand on the back of Steve’s neck, making sure he knew this kiss wasn’t going to end for a while. Of course Steve didn’t mind.

 

* * *

 

“God damn it! How?” Clint shouted towards Natasha.

They were both spying on Steve and Tony through security cameras. Earlier Natasha recruited Clint to help her find evidence to prove Tony was gay, but he quit after a day stating, “Either he’s straight, or a damn good actor, and we both know he sucks at acting.”

Clint turned out to be wrong. Steve and Tony were having a pretty intense make out session in Tony's lab.

Natasha gave him a smug smile. “I’m never wrong, Clint. Now, pay up.”

She held out her hand. Clint groaned and grabbed his wallet. He was 100% sure he was going to win the bet, but of course, Natasha was smarter than him.

He handed over the $50 reluctantly. He cursed Tony out in head.

“Thank you very much,” she said before leaving the room.

“I guess we know now that if the Avengers and Stark Industries fails, Tony could definitely get a job as an actor.”

**Author's Note:**

> Check out [my tumblr](https://boom-its-chris.tumblr.com/) for updates and more!


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